History Nabi Muhammad Saw
Mireille Duhon
Muhammad was born in approximately 570 CE in Mecca.[1] He was the son of Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib and Amina bint Wahb. His father, Abdullah, the son of Quraysh tribal leader Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, died around the time Muhammad was born. His mother Amina died when he was six, leaving Muhammad an orphan.[5][6] He was raised under the care of his grandfather, Abd al-Muttalib, and paternal uncle, Abu Talib.[7] In later years, he would periodically seclude himself in a mountain cave named Hira for several nights of prayer. When he was 40, circa 610 CE, Muhammad reported being visited by Gabriel in the cave[1] and receiving his first revelation from God. In 613,[8] Muhammad started preaching these revelations publicly,[9] proclaiming that "God is One", that complete "submission" (islām) to God (Allah) is the right way of life (dīn),[10] and that he was a prophet and messenger of God, similar to the other prophets in Islam.[3][11][12]
Muhammad's followers were initially few in number, and experienced hostility from Meccan polytheists for 13 years. To escape ongoing persecution, he sent some of his followers to Abyssinia in 615, before he and his followers migrated from Mecca to Medina (then known as Yathrib) later in 622. This event, the Hijrah, marks the beginning of the Islamic calendar, also known as the Hijri calendar. In Medina, Muhammad united the tribes under the Constitution of Medina. In December 629, after eight years of intermittent fighting with Meccan tribes, Muhammad gathered an army of 10,000 Muslim converts and marched on the city of Mecca. The conquest went largely uncontested, and Muhammad seized the city with little bloodshed. In 632, a few months after returning from the Farewell Pilgrimage, he fell ill and died. By the time of his death, most of the Arabian Peninsula had converted to Islam.[13][14]
The Quran is the central religious text of Islam. Muslims believe it represents the words of God revealed by the archangel Gabriel to Muhammad.[15][16][17] The Quran is mainly addressed to a single "Messenger of God" who is referred to as Muhammad in a number of verses. The Quranic text also describes the settlement of his followers in Yathrib after their expulsion by the Quraysh, and briefly mentions military encounters such as the Muslim victory at Badr.[18]
The Quran, however, provides minimal assistance for Muhammad's chronological biography; most Quranic verses do not provide significant historical context and timeline.[19][20] Almost none of Muhammad's companions are mentioned by name in the Quran, hence not providing sufficient information for a concise biography.[18] The Quran is considered to be contemporary with Muhammad, and the Birmingham manuscript has been radiocarbon dated to his lifetime, its discovery largely disproving Western revisionist theories about the Quran's origins.[21][22]
Important sources regarding Muhammad's life may be found in the historic works by writers of the 2nd and 3rd centuries of the Hijri era (around the 8th and 9th century CE respectively).[23] These include traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, which provide additional information about his life.[24]
Many scholars accept these early biographies as authentic.[25] However, Waqidi's biography has been widely criticized by Islamic scholars for his methods, in particular his decision to omit his sources.[29] Recent studies have led scholars to distinguish between traditions touching legal matters and purely historical events. In the legal group, traditions could have been subject to invention while historic events, aside from exceptional cases, may have been subject only to "tendential shaping".[30] Other scholars have criticized the reliability of this method, suggesting that one cannot neatly divide traditions into purely legal and historical categories.[31] Western historians describe the purpose of these early biographies as largely to convey a message, rather than to strictly and accurately record history.[32]
Other important sources include the hadith collections, accounts of verbal and physical teachings and traditions attributed to Muhammad. Hadiths were compiled several generations after his death by Muslims including Muhammad al-Bukhari, Muslim ibn al-Hajjaj, Muhammad ibn Isa at-Tirmidhi, Abd ar-Rahman al-Nasai, Abu Dawood, Ibn Majah, Malik ibn Anas, al-Daraqutni.[33][34]
Muslim scholars have typically placed a greater emphasis on the hadith literature instead of the biographical literature, since hadiths maintain a traditional chain of transmission (isnad); the lack of such a chain for the biographical literature makes it unverifiable in their eyes.[35] The hadiths generally present an idealized view of Muhammad.[36] Western scholars have expressed skepticism regarding the verifiability of these chains of transmission. It is widely believed by Western scholars that there was widespread fabrication of hadith during the early centuries of Islam to support certain theological and legal positions,[37][36] and it has been suggested that it is "very likely that a considerable number of hadiths that can be found in the hadith collections did not actually originate with the Prophet".[36] In addition, the meaning of a hadith may have drifted from its original telling to when it was finally written down, even if the chain of transmission is authentic.[31] Overall, some Western academics have cautiously viewed the hadith collections as accurate historical sources,[33] while the "dominant paradigm" in Western scholarship is to consider their reliability suspect.[37] Scholars such as Wilferd Madelung do not reject the hadith which have been compiled in later periods, but judge them in their historical context.[38]
Muhammad ibn Abdullah ibn Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim[39] was born in Mecca[40] about the year 570,[1] and his birthday is believed to be in the month of Rabi' al-Awwal.[41] He belonged to the Banu Hashim clan of the Quraysh tribe, which was a dominant force in western Arabia.[42] While his clan was one of the more distinguished in the tribe, it seems to have experienced a lack of prosperity during his early years.[12][d]According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad was a hanif, someone who professed monotheism in pre-Islamic Arabia. He is also claimed to have been a descendant of Ishmael, son of Abraham.[43][citation not found][44]
The historical record of Mecca during Muhammad's early life is limited and fragmentary, making it difficult to distinguish between fact and legend.[59] Several Islamic narratives relate that Muhammad, as a child, went on a trading trip to Syria with his uncle Abu Talib and met a monk named Bahira, who is said to have then foretold his prophethood.[60] There are multiple versions of the story with details that contradict each other.[61] All accounts of Bahira and his meeting with Muhammad have been considered fictitious by modern historians[62][63][64][65][66] as well as by some medieval Muslim scholars such as al-Dhahabi.[66]
Sometime later in his life, Muhammad proposed marriage to his cousin and first love, Fakhita bint Abi Talib. But likely owing to his poverty, his proposal was rejected by her father, Abu Talib, who chose a more illustrious suitor.[67][68] When Muhammad was 25, his fortunes turned around; his business reputation caught the attention of his 40-year-old distant relative Khadijah, a wealthy businesswoman who had staked out a successful career as a merchant in the caravan trade industry. She asked him to take one of her caravans into Syria, after which she was so impressed by his competence in the expedition that she proposed marriage to him; Muhammad accepted her offer and remained monogamous with her until her death.[69][70][65]
In 605, the Quraysh decided to roof the Kaaba, which had previously consisted only of walls. A complete rebuild was needed to accommodate the new weight. Amid concerns about upsetting the deities, a man stepped forth with a pickaxe and exclaimed, "O goddess! Fear not! Our intentions are only for the best." With that, he began demolishing it. The anxious Meccans awaited divine retribution overnight, but his unharmed continuation the next day was seen as a sign of heavenly approval. According to a narrative collected by Ibn Ishaq, when it was time to reattach the Black Stone, a dispute arose over which clan should have the privilege. It was determined that the first person to step into the Kaaba's court would arbitrate. Muhammad took on this role, asking for a cloak. He placed the stone on it, guiding clan representatives to jointly elevate it to its position. He then personally secured it within the wall.[72][73]
The financial security Muhammad enjoyed from Khadija, his wealthy wife, gave him plenty of free time to spend in solitude in the cave of Hira.[74][75] According to Islamic tradition, one day in 610 CE, when he was 40 years old, the angel Gabriel appeared to him during his visit to the cave. The angel showed him a cloth with Quranic verses on it and instructed him to read. When Muhammad confessed his illiteracy, Gabriel choked him forcefully, nearly suffocating him, and repeated the command. As Muhammad reiterated his inability to read, Gabriel choked him again in a similar manner. This sequence took place once more before Gabriel finally recited the verses, allowing Muhammad to memorize them.[76][77][78] These verses later constituted Quran 96:1-5.[79]
When Muhammad came to his senses, he felt scared; he started to think that after all of this spiritual struggle, he had been visited by a jinn, which made him no longer want to live. In desperation, Muhammad fled from the cave and began climbing up towards the top of the mountain to jump to his death. But when he reached the summit, he experienced another vision, this time seeing a mighty being that engulfed the horizon and stared back at Muhammad even when he turned to face a different direction. This was the spirit of revelation (rūḥ), which Muhammad later referred to as Gabriel; it was not a naturalistic angel, but rather a transcendent presence that resisted the ordinary limits of humanity and space.[80][81][82]
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